Modular system with platformed robot, booth, and fluid delivery system for tire spraying

ABSTRACT

A modular tire spraying system includes a downdraft spray booth for receiving a tire, a fluid delivery system disposed in the spray booth, a robot for transporting the tire to the spray booth, and a platform on which each of the spray booth, the fluid delivery system, and the robot is disposed. The fluid delivery system includes at least one spray gun for delivering a coating to the tire.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method of and a system for coating green oruncured tires. More particularly, the invention is directed to a systemfor robotically spraying a coating on predetermined areas both insideand outside green tires.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventionally, pneumatic rubber tires are produced by molding andcuring a green, or uncured, tire in a molding press in which the greentire is pressed outwardly against a mold surface by means of an innerfluid expandable bladder. By this method, the green tire is shapedagainst the outer mold surface that typically defines the tire's treadpattern and configuration of sidewalls. By application of heat, the tireis cured. Generally, the bladder is expanded by internal pressureprovided by a fluid such as hot gas, hot water and/or steam which alsoparticipates in the transfer of heat for curing or vulcanizationpurposes. The tire is then usually allowed to cool somewhat in the mold,sometimes aided by added cold or cooler water to the internal surface ofthe bladder. Then the mold is opened, the bladder collapsed by removalof its internal fluid pressure and the tire removed from the tire mold.Such tire curing procedure is well known to those having skill in suchart.

The use of synthetic rubber compounds in the manufacture of tires makesit necessary to apply suitable coating materials to the rubber surfacesof the fabricated tire carcasses to ensure proper distribution of rubberduring the curing operation and the production of finished tires withunblemished surfaces. These coatings are generally liquid in form andare known as lubricants and anti-blemish paints, where the lubricantsare applied to the interior surface of a green tire and the anti-blemishpaints are applied to the outer surface at the sidewall areas.

The outside green tire paints serve the functions of allowing the rubberto slip as it comes in contact with the metal mold and the paints alsoserve as a release agent when at the end of the vulcanization cycle, thetire must separate from the mold. Another function of the paint is toprovide bleeding of air which becomes trapped between the tire and themold. Outside green tire paints also aid in the appearance of thefinished tire.

Care must be taken that certain areas of the green tire are not coatedand that the lubricant employed at the interior of the carcass does notreach any exterior surface of the carcass. Also, applying the coatingsmanually by either spraying or brushing is time consuming and laborious.Automatic applications, are well known in the art, however, these priorart applications require presorting and separate applicator apparatusesfor tire size differences and outer spraying.

A known robotic tire spraying system is described in U.S. Pat. No.7,943,201 to Hendricks, Sr., the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference. The system analyzes individual greentires using an integrated vision system. The system controls the roboticspray position, the fan, fluid, atomizing air, and tire rotation speedfor optimal spray coverage on both the inside and outside of greentires. The system includes a conveyor, an overhead mounted cameralocated over an infeed station, and a second camera locatedperpendicular to the green tire's tread and several feet away from thecenter of the tire. Pictures of the green tire in the station are usedto estimate the center and radius of the tire and locate the angle ofthe bar code with respect to the center of the tire. Reference pointsare provided from the camera images and robot positions are calculatedto control the spraying.

There is a continuing need for a modular robotic tire spray system forin house or onsite demonstration purposes, operator and maintenancetraining, trade show use, and for sale as a supplemental tire sprayingsystem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In concordance with the instant disclosure, a modular robotic tire spraysystem for in house or onsite demonstration purposes, operator andmaintenance training, trade show use, and for sale as a supplementaltire spraying system, has surprisingly been discovered.

The present invention is a modular unit for spraying a mold release on agreen tire after the tire build process and before the tire moldingprocess. The unit is a portable skid mounted system including at leastone of a conveyor, a robot, a controller, an end of arm tire gripper, aspray gun, a fluid delivery system, a spray booth, a filter system, anexhaust fan, a perimeter safety fence, a vision system with cameras,light array measuring sticks, and a bar code reader.

In operation, a tire is conveyed or manually loaded onto a robotic spraysystem conveyor. The tire is measured either by a camera, light array,or barcode, with data transferred to controller prior to the spray. Therobot picks the tire from the conveyor and places the tire into thespray booth. The tire position relative to the spray gun, fan width,atomizing air, rotation speed, and spray volume is calculated by therobot controller on a per tire basis, for example, based on the dataobtained. The tire is sprayed at least one of inside and outside withthe proper amount of mold release. The tire is then placed back onto theconveyor, tire rack, or other transfer device by the robot.

Advantages of the present invention include a modular design, a portableskid, precision spray, minimized material usage, uniform spray coverage,improved spray quality, minimal overspray, minimal moving parts, minimalmaintenance, and a single controller. Cycle time is further expected tobe improved, for example, up to approximately 4-5 tires per minute, ormore.

In one embodiment, a modular tire spraying system includes a downdraftspray booth for receiving a tire, a fluid delivery system disposed inthe spray booth, a robot for transporting the tire to the spray booth,and a platform on which each of the spray booth, the fluid deliverysystem, and the robot is disposed. The fluid delivery system includes atleast one spray gun for delivering a coating to the tire.

In another embodiment, a downdraft spray booth for receiving a tireincludes a pan disposed beneath a fluid delivery system of a tirespraying system. The pan has a plurality of apertures formed therein,through which an overspray from the fluid delivery system is caused toflow. An exhaust fan is in fluid communication with the pan and causesthe overspray from the fluid delivery system to flow through theapertures of the pan.

In a further embodiment, a method for spraying a coating on a tireincludes the steps of: providing a modular tire spraying systemincluding downdraft spray booth for receiving the tire, a fluid deliverysystem disposed in the spray booth, wherein the fluid delivery systemincludes at least one spray gun for delivering the coating to the tire,a robot for transporting the tire to the spray booth, and a platform onwhich each of the spray booth, the fluid delivery system, and the robotis disposed; and loading the tire into the downdraft spray booth usingthe robot. The tire is then rotated using the robot, and sprayed withthe coating using the fluid delivery system. Following spraying, thetire is removed from the spray booth portion using the robot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above, as well as other advantages of the present invention, willbecome readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the followingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in thelight of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a modular tire spraying systemaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is another side perspective view of the modular tire sprayingsystem shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the modular tire spraying systemshown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side elevational view of a downdraft spraybooth for the modular tire spraying system shown in FIGS. 1-3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description and appended drawings describe andillustrate various exemplary embodiments of the invention. Thedescription and drawings serve to enable one skilled in the art to makeand use the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention in any manner. In respect of the methods disclosed, the stepspresented are exemplary in nature, and thus, the order of the steps isnot necessary or critical.

FIGS. 1-3 show a modular tire spraying system 2 according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure. The modular tire spraying system 2includes a downdraft spray booth 4 for receiving a tire 6, a fluiddelivery system 8 with at least one spray gun 10, and a robot 12. Thetire 6 is a green or uncured tire that requires coating prior to amolding or curing operation to manufacture a final tire product (notshown).

The fluid delivery system 8 is disposed in the spray booth 4. The fluiddelivery system 8 includes the at least one spray gun 10 for deliveringa coating 11 (FIG. 4) to the tire 6. Although the spray gun 10 is shownas being unidirectional and fixed-position in FIG. 1, it should beappreciated that the spray gun 10 may alternatively be mobile, forexample, attached to a spraying robot (not shown). Similarly, althoughthe spray gun 10 may be being disposed inside the tire 6 for coating aninside of the tire 6, when the tire 6 is positioned within the spraybooth 4, disposition of the spray gun 10 adjacent an outer wall of thespray booth 4 may be employed to coat an outside of the tire 6, asdesired.

The robot 12 of the modular tire spraying system 2 is configured toselectively transport the tire 6 to and from the spray booth 4. As shownin FIGS. 1-3, the robot 12 may be multi-axis machine. Nonlimiting butsuitable examples of the robot 12 may include one of a 4-, 5-, and6-axis robot. The robot 12 has a gripper 13 that allows the robot 12 toselectively pick up the tire 6. The gripper 13 may also be rotatable,and facilitate a rotation of the tire 6 by the robot 12 during a coatingoperation. The positioning of the tire 6 and the rate of rotation of thetire 6 may be finely controlled by the robot 12. In particularembodiments, the robot 12 is the only component of the modular tirespraying system 2 responsible for moving the tire 6 during the sprayingoperation. The use of other types or robots and related machines formoving the tire 6 is also within the scope of the present disclosure.

Being modular, and thus portable, the modular tire spraying system 2 ofthe present disclosure includes a platform 14 for transport of themodular tire spraying system 2. Each of the spray booth 4, the fluiddelivery system 8, and the robot 12 is disposed on the platform 14. In aparticular embodiment, the platform 14 is a portable skid configured tobe moved by a skid loader or like equipment. The platform 14 permits aconvenient transport and rapid installation of the modular tire sprayingsystem 2 at a facility where tires 6 are to be painted.

A safety fence 16 may be disposed around at least a portion of theplatform 14, including at least one of the spray booth 4, the fluiddelivery system 8, and the robot 12, as desired. In certain embodiments,the safety fence 16 is disposed around at least a portion of a perimeterof the platform 14. In an illustrative embodiment, the safety fence 16includes an entry gate 18 and an exit gate 20. The tire 6 is transportedto the modular tire spraying system 2, prior to spraying, through theentry gate 18. Following spraying, the tire 6 is transported from themodular tire spraying system 2 through the exit gate 20.

The transportation of the tire 6 through the modular tire sprayingsystem 2 may be performed with conveying equipment such as a conveyor22. The conveyor 22 may include at least one of a powered belt conveyorand a non-powered roller conveyor, for example. In particular, theconveyor 22 is disposed between the entry gate 18 and the exit gate 20,and further disposed on the platform 14, for disposition of the tire 6adjacent the robot 12 for the spraying operation. It should beappreciated that the tire 6 may be manually loaded onto the conveyor 22of the modular tire spraying system 2, through the entry gate 18.Additional conveyors, belts, and other transportation systems outside ofthe modular tire spraying system 2 may be employed to deliver andretrieve the tire 6 from the conveyor 22 of modular tire spraying system2, as desired.

In certain embodiments, the modular tire spraying system 2 includes acontroller 24 for operating at least one of the robot 12 and the atleast one spray gun 10 when spraying the tire 6 with the coating 11. Thecontroller 24 may also include a memory unit and one or more centralprocessing units, and be used to calculate spray parameters for eachindividual tire 6, for example, based upon measurements, barcodereadings, and the like. In particular, the tire position relative to thespray gun, fan width, atomizing air, rotation speed, and spray volumemay be calculated by the controller 24 on a per-tire basis. Thecontroller 24 may also have a terminal that permits an establishment ofsettings or manual operation of the modular tire spraying system 2. Thecontroller 24 may be disposed on the platform 14, or may be disposed aseparate location apart from the platform 14, as desired.

The controller 24 may be in communication with at least one sensingdevice 26, 28. For example, the at least one sensing device 26, 28 mayinclude a light array system 26 for measuring the dimensions of the tire6 prior to spraying the tire 6 with the coating 11. The light arraysystem 26 may include at least one light emitter and at least one lightreceiver. The light array system 26 may be disposed on the safety fence16, for example, adjacent the entry gate 18 formed in the safety fence16. In the particular embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, the light arraysystem 26 includes a vertical light emitter and a vertical lightreceiver, and a horizontal light emitter and a horizontal lightreceiver. The light array system 26 may be employed to measure at leastone of an inner diameter, an outer diameter, and a profile of the tire 6delivered through the entry gate 18. The measurement data from the lightarray system 26 is then sent to the controller 24, which uses themeasurement data in calculating spray parameters and controlling the atleast one of the spray gun 10 and the robot 12 accordingly.

In another example, the at least one sensing device 26, 28 is a camera28. The camera 28 may be used to generate an image of the tire 6, whichis delivered to the controller 24 for calculating spray parameters. Thecamera 28 may be disposed to a side of the tire 6 or overhead of thetire 6, as desired. As with the measurements obtained by the light arraysystem 26, the image generated by the camera 28 may be used by thecontroller 24 in operating the at least one spray gun 10 and the robot12 of the modular tire spraying system 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the camera 28 when overhead may be disposed on anarm 30. The arm 30 normally extends upwardly from the modular tirespraying system 2 and over top of the tire 6 when loaded into themodular tire spraying system 2. The arm 30 permits a generating of theimage of the tire 6 from above the tire 6, as the tire 6 enters themodular tire spraying system 2. As a nonlimiting example, the arm 30 maybe substantially L-shaped, although other suitable shapes for the arm 30may also be used.

Advantageously, the arm 30 may be collapsed, for example, telescopicallyor at a hinge point, or removed, for example, by pulling a pin (notshown) connecting the arm 30 to a lower support 32 mounted on theplatform 14, in order that the modular tire spraying system 2 may bereadied for transport. Although the camera 28 is shown being the onlysensing device 26, 28 attached to the arm 30, it should be understoodthat the light arrays 26, or other sensing devices such as barcodereaders, radio-frequency identification scanners, and the like, may alsobe attached to the arm 30 within the scope of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 4, the downdraft spray booth 4 of the modulartire spraying system 2 is shown in further detail. The downdraft spraybooth 4 includes a pan 34 beneath the fluid delivery system 8. The pan34 has a plurality of apertures 36 formed therein. For example, theapertures 36 may be elongate slots formed in a base of the pan 34. Thesizes, shapes, and suitable number of the apertures 36 may be selectedby a skilled artisan. An overspray 37 from the fluid delivery system 8is caused to flow through the apertures 36 during the spraying operationin which the tire 6 is coated.

In particular, the overspray 37 from the fluid delivery system 8 iscaused to flow through the apertures 36 due to operation of an exhaustfan 38 in fluid communication with the pan 34. For example, the exhaustfan 38 may be disposed atop a manifold 40 of the downdraft spray booth4. The manifold 40 has an opening 42 open at a base of the downdraftspray booth 4 underneath the pan 34. In operation, the exhaust fan 38pulls air, including the overspray 37, from a region of the tire 6 beingsprayed, through the apertures 36 in the pan 34, into the opening 42 andthrough the manifold 40, and out of the manifold 40 into the surroundingatmosphere through the exhaust fan 38.

Advantageously, the downdraft spray booth 4 of the present disclosurepermits an installation of the modular tire spraying system 2 in afacility without requiring connection of the modular tire sprayingsystem 2 to pre-existing exhaust systems of the facility. The downdraftspray booth 4 removes substantially all of the overspray 37 that mayoccur during the spraying operation of the tire 6 from the air beingexhausted from the exhaust fan 38.

For removing the overspray 37 from the air drawn into the manifold 40,the downdraft spray booth 4 may include a plurality of fixed baffles 44disposed in the manifold 40 between the pan 34 and the exhaust fan 38.The overspray 37 from the fluid delivery system 8 is drawn into themanifold 40 by the exhaust fan 38, and condenses on the baffles 44 as itflows past the baffles 44. The condensed overspray 37 then drips into aremovable clean out tray 46 disposed beneath the fixed baffles 44. Theclean out tray 46 is configured to collect the overspray 37, and may beremoved and replaced during regular maintenance of the modular tirespraying system 2.

The downdraft spray booth 4 may also include a filter system 48 disposedbetween the fixed baffles 44 and the exhaust fan 38. The filter system48 removes any residual overspray 37 from the fluid delivery system 8after the residual overspray 37 has flowed past the fixed baffles 44. Asa nonlimiting example, the filtering system 48 may include a bank ofremovable filters. The filters may be formed from a nonwoven or fibrousfilter media. Other suitable filter media for the filtering system 48may also be employed, as desired.

As with the clean out tray 46, the filtering system 48 may be subject toregular maintenance. To facilitate such maintenance, a door 50 may bedisposed on the manifold 40 adjacent at least one of the baffles 44, theclean out tray 46, and the filtering system 48. The door 50 permitsaccess to an interior of the manifold 40 when opened, for maintenancepurposes, but is substantially fluid tight when closed in order that airmay be drawn downwardly through the pan 34 and out through the exhaustfan 38 during an operation of the downdraft spray booth 4.

The present disclosure further includes a method for spraying a coatingon the tire 6. The method first includes the step of providing themodular tire spraying system 2, as described hereinabove. The tire 6 isloaded into the downdraft spray booth 4 using the robot 12. The robot 12further rotates the tire 6 so that the tire 6 may be sprayed with thecoating 11 using the fluid delivery system 8. Following the coatingoperation, the tire 6 is removed from the downdraft spray booth 4 usingthe robot 6.

In a particular embodiment, the platform 14 is a portable skid, and themodular tire spraying system 2 is first provided by delivering theportable skid to a floor of a tire manufacturing location or facility.

The modular tire spraying system 2 of the present disclosureadvantageously may be employed for in-house or onsite demonstrationpurposes, operator and maintenance training, trade show use, and forsale as a supplemental tire spraying system that may be installed withminimal effort.

While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown forpurposes of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various changes may be made without departingfrom the scope of the invention, which is further described in thefollowing appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A modular tire spraying system, comprising: adowndraft spray booth for receiving a tire; a fluid delivery systemdisposed in the spray booth, wherein the fluid delivery system includesat least one spray gun for delivering a coating to the tire; a robot fortransporting the tire to the spray booth; and a portable platform onwhich all of the spray booth, the fluid delivery system, and the robotare disposed, wherein the spray booth is mounted to the platform at aspray booth location, the robot is mounted to the platform at a mountinglocation spaced apart from the spray booth location, and the robot isconfigured to transport the tire to and from the spray booth and aconveying location on the platform, the mounting location disposedbetween the spray booth location and the conveying location, wherein themounting location and the conveying location are aligned along a firstaxis on the platform, and the tire is introduced to the conveyinglocation from outside the platform along a second axis transverse to thefirst axis, and wherein the robot is a multi-axis robot having arotatable gripper configured to selectively pick up and release the tireat the conveying location, dispose the tire within the spray booth androtate the tire during the delivery of the coating by the spray gun. 2.The modular tire spraying system of claim 1, further including acontroller for operating the robot and the at least one spray gun whendelivering the coating to the tire, the controller also disposed on theplatform.
 3. The modular tire spraying system of claim 2, including atleast one sensing device in communication with the controller.
 4. Themodular tire spraying system of claim 3, wherein the at least onesensing device includes one of a light array system for measuringdimensions of the tire and a camera for generating an image of the tire.5. The modular tire spraying system of claim 1, wherein the at least onespray gun is fixed in position.
 6. The modular tire spraying system ofclaim 1, wherein the platform is a portable skid.
 7. The modular tirespraying system of claim 1, including a safety fence disposed on theplatform.
 8. The modular tire spraying system of claim 7, wherein thesafety fence has an entry gate through which the tire is transported tothe modular tire spraying system, and an exit gate through which thetire is transported from the modular tire spraying system.
 9. Themodular tire spraying system of claim 8, including a conveyor disposedbetween the entry gate and the exit gate, the conveyor disposed on theplatform at the conveying location.
 10. The modular tire spraying systemof claim 9, wherein only the robot moves and transports the tire on andoff the conveyor within the modular tire spraying system.
 11. Themodular tire spraying system of claim 1, wherein the downdraft spraybooth includes a pan beneath the fluid delivery system, the pan having aplurality of apertures formed therein through which an overspray fromthe fluid delivery system is caused to flow.
 12. The modular tirespraying system of claim 11, wherein the downdraft spray booth includesan exhaust fan in fluid communication with the pan and causing theoverspray from the fluid delivery system to flow through the aperturesof the pan.
 13. The modular tire spraying system of claim 12, whereinthe downdraft spray booth includes a plurality of fixed baffles disposedbetween the pan and the exhaust fan, the overspray from the fluiddelivery system flowing past and condensing on the baffles.
 14. Themodular tire spraying system of claim 12, wherein the downdraft spraybooth includes a filter system disposed between the pan and the exhaustfan for filtering the overspray from the fluid delivery system.
 15. Themodular tire spraying system of claim 12, wherein the downdraft spraybooth includes a removable clean out tray configured to collect theoverspray that condenses.
 16. The modular tire spraying system of claim12, wherein the downdraft spray booth includes an access door forperforming maintenance.